The beginning of the end.

Ah, 2004. There were no iPhones or twitter, and Facebook was still only for Harvard students. A simpler time, some would say. It's summer, and I am working at a marina on a local lake. This was the beginning of an era for me. For 4 summers I worked at this marina, which is a family owned business. Working here is kind of a right of passage among my cousins.

I can't remember ever dreading going to work, as well, I shouldn't have dreaded it. I was only 14, and working was still fun. There's nothing I really remember not liking about this job. This is probably because things are always better in memories. However, my mother tells me I hated the customer service side. Go figure. It's definitely not my favorite thing. 

Hop back in my time machine for a short trip to 2007. It's the start of my senior year, and I have a job for my high school co-op (or work study) program. This job was in an office that had programs that worked with the community. I was hired to accompany one of the program leaders to area schools, but because of insurance reasons I was grounded to the office. Though this did not bother me, as I am more of a behind the scenes kind of girl. I did the usual clerical things, like make copies and mail newsletters. One of my more undesirable tasks was cleaning and organizing the supply closet. I shudder at the mere thought of that closet. Overall, I liked this job a lot, and can only be thankful that I got to spend some time with the people I worked with. 

I know you must be thinking, "Why does she think these jobs could be classified as unsuccessful employment?" I don't. These were jobs I held in high school, so I consider these successes. It was a success that I even get out of bed for something other than school.

The next job I'll tell you about is my descent into the abyss that is horrible jobs. Now, I don't want to overreact. Things and jobs that I would describe as horrible and abominable may not be what you would describe as that, but I am also known as a complainer. As I tell my nearest and dearest, deal with it. As excited as I'm sure you are, the rest must wait until next time. 

"Go to college," they said. "Get a good job," they said.

Hi! My name is Courtney and, as you can tell from the name of this blog, I am what I like to so lovingly describe as unsuccessfully employed. What does that mean, you ask? Well, it all began on the day I started college. Back then I really had no idea what I wanted to do. And let's face it, I still don't, but that's another story for another time. Anyways, I started off as an accounting major. That lasted all of one semester. After that I thought social work might be a good fit. Nope. Didn't even have the chance to change my major with the registrar before I decided I wanted to teach. That also only lasted for a semester. After I took an abnormal psych class my sophomore year of college I decided psychology was the perfect thing for me. It was interesting and wasn't too difficult that I would lose all drive to finish school. A few short years later, May 2012 to be exact, I graduated from college with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology.

Now, here's where it gets interesting. Twenty seven months after my college graduation I have yet to have a job that requires a psychology degree, much less, any sort of college degree. Now, I'm not complaining about my job, or any job I've had, because I am lucky to have a job. You know, with today's economy and job market and blah blah blah... we all read the news. I'm just saying, I don't want to feel like I wasted those 4 years in college, and don't even get me started on paying off student loans, yikes. This isn't going to be about me complaining about having a paying job and being a tax-paying citizen (#firstworldproblems am I right?), I'm just here to recount my stories of working to pay good ol' Sallie Mae in a minimum wage world. And maybe if I write them down, all those jobs I hated so much will have meant something. Well, a girl can dream, can't she?

I am happy to be working, I just want (and need) a job that makes me happy. And the ones I'm here to tell you about do not. They do make for interesting stories, though. So, if you're ready to jump in my time machine, we're are going to take it back to 2004. Cue the flashback music they use in movies.



And this is, what they like to call in show business, a cliffhanger.